Derek Landy - Bedlam

“Why would they have your son?” Skulduggery asked.

“You know who Wilkes was, right? His job?”

“President Flanery’s personal aide.”

“My ex, Magenta, that’s Robbie’s mom, she’s a Sensitive, the kind that specialises in persuading people to do things, oftentimes against their own interests. That’s a very particular talent to have, and it’s one of the reasons we broke up. She’s not a bad person by any stretch, but I don’t think she could resist some small manipulations to get her way every now and then. That’s got nothing to do with anything, though.

“Four years ago, right after we split, she mentioned something about taking a job for a mortal politician – Flanery. It paid good money and it wasn’t overly time-consuming, so she could give Robbie the support and attention he needed. I wasn’t around much, so I got to see him at weekends and whenever I was back this way. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

“Magenta was used to convince senators to vote a certain way, to push judges to make favourable decisions, that kinda thing. She said Flanery had an advisor, a sorcerer.”

“Wilkes,” said Valkyrie.

“No,” said Oberon. “Wilkes came later. I don’t think Flanery knew that Wilkes was a mage. Or maybe he did, I don’t know – but his advisor was somebody else.”

“Where does your child come into all this?” Skulduggery asked.

A muscle flexed in Oberon’s jaw. “When Flanery started his bid for the presidency, he needed Magenta more and more. She resisted. She was talking about quitting. That’s when Robbie was taken.”

Valkyrie’s eyes widened. “Your son has been missing since before Flanery became president?”

“Three years now,” Oberon said. “Every two or three days, Magenta gets to spend a few hours with him. As I’m sure you know, I spent most of that time in a prison cell, so I didn’t know that Robbie had been snatched until I got out of Ironpoint and received a letter she’d left for me.”

“Why were you in Wilkes’s house?”

“I was trying to find what you detectives call a clue. Am I pronouncing that right? Clue?”

“Surely your wife could help you …?”

“I haven’t been able to speak to Magenta,” Oberon said. “I haven’t been able to get close. She’s got the Seven-As-One guarding her.”

Skulduggery grunted, then turned to Valkyrie. “The Seven-As-One are—”

“Seven Sensitive siblings,” Valkyrie said, “who maintain a psychic link at all times. They’re used to guard people and places, making it almost impossible for anyone to sneak up on them without the alarm being raised.”

Skulduggery tilted his head. “How do you know all that?”

“I do get out every now and then,” she said, returning her attention to Oberon. “So you think your son is being held in the house across the road.”

“I don’t know,” Oberon said, deflating slightly. “I only know that the people over there are sorcerers, and they’re involved. Maybe they have Robbie in there, maybe they don’t. But they definitely know more about what’s going on here than I do, so, if you wanna know who’s behind all of this, I’d say that helping me bust in there is a great place to start. And I ain’t gonna give you much of a choice in the matter. I’m going in.”

He got out of the car and started striding across the road.

“Oh, I like him,” Valkyrie said.

“I thought you might,” said Skulduggery. “Go round the back, will you? Let’s at least pretend like we’re professionals.”

Valkyrie put her boot to the door and it burst open and in she went, shock sticks swinging, catching the first guy in the jaw and the second guy in the knee, the back, and then the face. They both fell and she moved out of the kitchen, down the short corridor. There were a lot of crashes coming from the front of the house. Lot of cries of pain.

A woman came hurtling out of a doorway, not even looking where she was going. Valkyrie jabbed her in her chest with both sticks and there was a flash and she went flying back.

“Clear,” she heard Skulduggery say.

“Clear,” she responded.

She put her sticks away, forming a cross on her back, and stepped into the living room. Five unconscious people in here – one still conscious, bleeding from a busted nose and sitting on a chair. Skulduggery and Oberon stood over him.

“What’s your name?” Skulduggery asked. The man twisted his lip as he was about to answer and Skulduggery hit him. “Rudeness will not be tolerated – let’s just make that clear right at the start. I’m Skulduggery, she’s Valkyrie, he’s Oberon. What’s your name?”

The man spat out a tooth. “Sleave,” he said.

“Where’s my son?” Oberon demanded.

Sleave frowned. “How the hell would I know? Who’s your son?”

“Robbie,” said Oberon. “His name’s Robbie.”

“Ah,” Sleave said, “you’re his dad, are you? Not much of a family resemblance, if I’m being honest.”

“Where is he?”

Sleave held up his hands. “I refer you to my earlier reply. To wit: how the hell would I know?”

“You move him around, don’t you?”

“I did ,” said Sleave, “with the rest of these mooks. Every week, we’d take the kid somewhere new and guard him, feed him, put up with his nonsense and take him to see his mommy two or three times a week. But recently we were informed that our services were no longer required. Sadly, I have been made redundant.” His voice suddenly filled with hope. “I don’t suppose you have any other kids we could kidnap, do you?”

Oberon lunged and Skulduggery held him back, and Sleave laughed.

Valkyrie hunkered down in front of him. “How long were you on this particular job?” she asked.

Sleave shrugged. “Four months, maybe five.”

“So you’re not the first to keep him moving around.”

“And we’re not the last, either.”

“Who’s your boss?”

“We’re freelance. We don’t have a boss .”

“Then who hired you? Who gave you your instructions? Who did you report to?”

Sleave grinned. “The answer to all those questions is the same name, and I’ll tell you what it is – providing you let us go.”

“I’m afraid that’s not how it works.”

“Then you should probably change how it works, because you may have come in here and kicked all our asses, and some of them twice, but, from where I’m sitting, I’m the one in the position of power.”

“Careful now,” Valkyrie said. “We can always send a Sensitive into your head, and who knows what they might scramble while they’re in there.”

Sleave didn’t look too worried. “You don’t think I’ve got defences for that sorta thing? Sure, those defences don’t last forever, but I’d hold out for as long as I could, just out of spite. Let us go. All of us. Even the stupid ones. Then I’ll tell you the name of the man you’re looking for.”

With Oberon now at the other side of the room, Skulduggery straightened his tie. “We won’t do that,” he said. “But you tell us his name, and, when we’ve verified that you told us the truth, then we’ll let you go.”

“That’s more like it!” said Sleave. “See, girl, this is how you negotiate! May I stand?”

“By all means,” said Skulduggery.

Sleave stood. “I like your counter-offer, Mr Pleasant. It shows potential. But we’re not gonna be able to accept this whole being released afterwards thing. The problem is, yeah, we’re criminals, and so decidedly untrustworthy – but you’re Sanctuary folk, and so you’re absolutely untrustworthy.”